Cal Thomas commentary: In comparison, traffic scandal is small potatoes

Wednesday

Jan 15, 2014 at 12:01 AMJan 15, 2014 at 11:14 AM

A multiple-choice question: Select the scandal(s) that affects the most people and has long-term implications for the country in a time of war, a country with a struggling economy that last month produced the weakest job growth in decades. (According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 92 million Americans no longer are in the labor force.)

A multiple-choice question: Select the scandal(s) that affects the most people and has long-term implications for the country in a time of war, a country with a struggling economy that last month produced the weakest job growth in decades. (According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 92 million Americans no longer are in the labor force.)

A) The closing of traffic lanes in Ft. Lee, N.J., allegedly in retaliation for the refusal of a Democratic mayor to endorse New Jersey Republican Gov. Chris Christie for a second term.

B) The role of the president and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton when the U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya, was attacked on September 11, 2012, killing Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans and the lies and possible cover-up about al-Qaida’s involvement.

D) President Barack Obama’s repeated statements assuring Americans that if they like their insurance plans and doctors, they may keep them under the new Affordable Care Act.

If you are honest, you would have to select B, C and D, but who among the media are honest enough to do that?

Christie held a 107-minute news conference last Thursday, during which he repeatedly denied knowing anything about the lane closures on the George Washington Bridge. He fired Bridget Anne Kelly, his deputy chief of staff, and blocked the appointment of another associate to a state GOP chairmanship.

Left-leaning Democrats and the establishment media see an opening to keep Christie from winning the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 and are salivating because they think the Fort Lee controversy might harm his chances against Clinton.

One wishes the media would grill Obama over more-important matters with the same zeal they have applied to Christie.

In light of B, C and D above, closing two lanes leading to a bridge is nothing. It does, however, again expose the media’s agenda and its intention to bring down anyone who is a potential threat to a Hillary Clinton presidency.

On Monday, CNN reported that Christie is now the subject of a federal investigation into whether he misused $25 million in Superstorm Sandy relief money to fund a marketing campaign to promote tourism at the Jersey Shore. Convenient timing? If wasted federal money is an indictable offense, most of Congress should be behind bars.

Colin Reed, a Christie spokesman, stated, “The Stronger Than the Storm campaign was just one part of the first action plan approved by the Obama administration and developed with the goal of effectively communicating that the Jersey Shore was open for business during the first summer after Sandy. Federal-agency reviews are routine and standard operating procedure with all federally allocated resources to ensure that funds are distributed fairly. We’re confident that any review will show that the ads were a key part in helping New Jersey get back on its feet after being struck by the worst storm in state history.” End of controversy? Hardly.

There may be more important reasons why Christie should not (or should) be the GOP presidential nominee in 2016, but the bridge-lane fiasco ought not be a factor.

Should Christie be exposed as a liar about lane closures, would that be more serious than the lies the president has told about far more serious matters?